May 17, 2013

Piecing Together The Delage Coupe

Dick speaks with David Cooper, the part-sleuth, part-mechanic who restored a rare 1937 Delage Aerosport Coupe.

There were only 12 ever built in the 1930’s in France.They were made by hand, and the interior was handpicked by the few customers.

Cooper says that finding the oversize chrome fenders and original chassis meant researching the story of Millicent Rogers, the American heiress who owned the car and outlined her specifications with her lipstick.

Music:

"Lady Be Good", "I Saw Stars" and "Swing de Paris" by Django Reinhardt

In a World War II era blimp hangar in California, a prototype of a new kind of aircraft, the “Aeroscraft” is being tested. It’s a space-age looking machine that’s almost as big as a football field and able to carry 50 tons or more.

Audrey Hunter was 17 the first time she hopped a train. The 23-year-old pre-nursing student now admits it's a dangerous thing to do, but for three years of her life, Audrey courted danger and traveled the country by train.

Every time the price of gold heads towards $1000 an ounce, Debra Graham is reminded of the adventure she had back in the 80s. It all began when she was unemployed and took out an ad offering a reward for information leading to a job.

Tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. At the time, Sorell Schwartz was a newly minted officer at the Naval Medical Research Center in Bethesda, Md. Soon after he found out about the assassination, Sorell learned the president's body was being transported to his hospital. As he tells Dick Gordon, Sorell next found himself with a lot of responsibility - leading the effort to receive the casket and grieving family members, while also managing a growing crowd of onlookers. Also in this epsiode: Andrew Questell has been playing the blues since he was just a kid - 10 years old. He's now 14.

In August 1970, a woman named Judy Syfers stood before a crowd gathered in San Francisco and read an essay she wrote entitled "Why I Want a Wife." The crowd was gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. Also in this episode: the story of a brick.

We hear two dispatches from U.S. Military Camp Buehring. Chaplain Matt Stewart describes a wall of photographs of the fallen, which he visits on Memorial Day to look for soldiers who have died. Also: tank mechanic Sgt. Roberto Abelardo witnessed the Twin Towers falling on 9-11 and decided to enlist.